Local man gets 20 years in prison for child-sex computer files

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A western Pennsylvania man will spend nearly 20 years in federal prison for collecting more than 1,000 images of computerized child pornography linked to at least four victims, including a 6-year-old.

Patrick Kofalt, 56, was targeted by federal investigators after the 6-year-old reported being molested in late 2009.

That led the state police and eventually the FBI to investigate Kofalt, who was found to have the child pornography encrypted and saved on his computers.

U.S. Attorney David Hickton said three additional sexual assault victims of Kofalt's were identified during the course of the investigation.

Kofalt was sentenced Tuesday by a federal judge in Pittsburgh to 19 years, seven months in prison. He had pleaded guilty in December to possessing material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor.

WPXI